


For Those Below

by galiifreywolf



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Angst, Based on the Grishaverse universe, Descent into Avernus, Dungeons & Dragons Character Backstory, Flashbacks, Minor Character Death, argument
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:08:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27987471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galiifreywolf/pseuds/galiifreywolf
Summary: Deep in the pits of Avernus, a human life cleric and a tiefling wizard find their inherent moral compasses at stark odds - possibly fatally. A short expanded scene from a D&D campaign exploring my character's background in more detail.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	For Those Below

**Author's Note:**

> A speculative scene in my Descent into Avernus campaign in which I had a week to figure out what I, the life cleric Alina Lantsov, was going to say to our Tiefling Wizard (Regal) after a major altercation in the previous session. 
> 
> I _heavily_ appropriated the character vibes and obviously names from both Shadow & Bone and Six of Crows. I've been super into it, so I ran with it. You can look at is as an AU, if you'd like.

Far at the edge of Fort Knucklebone, the harsh glare of firelight twisted the shadows of jagged junkyard metal into demons of their own kind. Odd, grotesque beetles scurried over rusted gear shafts, their unsettling clicking sounds mingling with the hideous laughter of redcaps. Far on the horizon, Nichevo'ya circled the land on oil-slick wings, their shrieks and cries far too human for comfort. 

Alina’s burning-dry eyes flicked across the skyline, watching their movements, disgusted but not quite able to look away. Morbid curiosity had always been a blight on human existence; none more so than for the Disciples of Life, who so often were drawn to find even the last shred of decency in a being.

To say it was a blessing and a curse would be an understatement.

A ragged sigh escaped Alina’s lungs as she hugged her metal-clad arm a bit closer to the oozing wound on her side where the madcap had lashed out.

_It’s all just a misunderstanding, yeah? No need to kill anyone, no need to continue this mess…_

_Filthy stupid humans, think they can trickses us, no, no, this one is a liar, attacks us from the back like a coward if we agrees--_

_I swear I’m here to help, not attack, see, I’ll even put down my--_

_It’s armed! It’s armed! Kill it, kill this witch, this witch!_

She could remember - with vicious clarity - the blinding pain, and falling backward. The metallic tang of blood on her lips, in her mouth. The painful white stars at the edge of her vision. The howls and continued torture at the hands of the madcaps. The scorching pain of the brimstone ground itself.

Out of all of it, the one thing she wishes she didn’t remember was Regal’s rage, his steel-eyed fury at her actions.

_One of these days, your damned moral compass isn’t just going to get you killed. It’ll get everyone around you killed, too._

When Alina closed her eyes again, Avernus’s glaring red was replaced with memories of muted blue.

+~+~+~+~+~+

The ship deck was empty, save for the slosh of seawater back and forth on the wood. Alina’s small lantern glowed with the light of her cantrip, casting eerie, cold light up the sails and main cabin.

It should not have been so quiet. 

Brow furrowed with worry, Alina slowly climbed the stairs curving up to the captain’s helm, wincing with each creak of the old wood. _Where are Tolya and Tamar, they should be…_

A gunshot shattered Alina’s train of thought, sending her sprinting back below deck and into the sleeping quarters.

Inside, hell had broken loose. A crisp white bed, a body, a bloodstain. Screaming, crewmen sprinting - some to hide, some to fight.

“All the saints, Tolya!” Tamar bellowed, “get down into the cargo hold and ensure not a single Fjerdan debil sees the morning light, do you hear me? The captain went on ahead, don’t let him do something stupid! Those animals, to infiltrate from within the cargo--”

Alina rushed past Tamar and straight to the tiny cot where the victim lay. 

_Misha, he’s just a child, how could this have happened---_

Alina’s thoughts raced through her head as she cast a lesser restoration, just enough to stabilize the young boy. 

“Zenik!” she barked, alerting the other Healer at the end of the hall, “get the medicine kit from the back, and get Misha back on his feet, I have to--” her words became choked as another roar of pain broke out from the cargo hold.

It was nearly impossible for Alina to navigate through the staircase down into the lower ship bay, but she was small, and quick. Rushing adrenaline crystallized into near-panic when she took in the scene before her - Nikolai was wrestling the bandits’ ring-leader to the ground.

“Now there, friend, is this really how you start parties back home? Would have been easier to -- _oof_ \-- start with a round of brandy first,” the fox-faced young captain snarled at the Fjerdan, spinning around to twist his arms into a deadlock. “Now, are you going to tell me exactly why you thought it wise to board my ship?” 

Alina smirked. _Always the negotiations._

Nikolai had always been a gambler. With words, with love, with money, with life. When he’d decided Ravka had grown too small for him and somehow acquired himself a ship, he’d danced with luck like a star-crossed lover at a masquerade ball - always in fleeting glimpses, but never long enough to fall in too deep.

Alina stowed away four times before he allowed her to stay.

Everything she had learned in the past few years was thanks to her beloved older brother. Nikolai was daring, smart, charismatic, and a damn good captain. Above all, though, he was kind. Kind in the face of a world that constantly demanded otherwise. Always looking for the story behind the actions, twisting attacks into alliances. In his own right, he was a force to be reckoned with - become an ally, or return bodily to the earth. He may have been a man of saccharine-sweet first chances, but not of seconds.

The pirate spat in Nikolai’s general direction, prompting a rough shove against the wall. They continued in hushed voices - the captain was not easily swayed by petty threats. 

Tolya finally rushed into the room, and once he’d determined Nikolai had his assailant well under control, turned his attention to Alina.

“Are you hurt, little one?” he asked kindly, voice always surprisingly soft for someone so intimidating. 

Alina shook her head. “Misha must have gotten hit by a stray gunshot, I staunched the immediate damage and made sure Nina was with him before I came here.”

Tolya nodded approvingly, but just as the tension began to leave their shoulders, Nikolai let out a gut-wrenching cry. Somehow, they had missed one of the barrels, where one more stow-away had been lying in wait. 

Tolya roared, barrelling into the man holding a dagger to the captain, sending him flying with the full-body impact. A bolt of radiant energy followed behind them, loosed from Alina’s nimble fingers, and struck the attacker to the ground in a crumpled heap. 

Panting, Nikolai slumped back against the wall, clutching his side where blood poured freely.

Eternity passed in the split second it took Alina to cross the floor and kneel next to him.

“Nikolai,” she choked, already tugging at Selune’s charm around her neck to begin casting every healing spell she could muster. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks, her lips trembling. 

“Oh, come now Alina, I thought you only saved your tears for my terrible puns,” Nikolai coughed, his charming, lopsided smile only slightly dimmer than usual. “I always wanted a nice roguish scar up my side, I’m told it’s all the rage with the ladies.”

“Nikolai, shut your _damn_ mouth and let me- let me…” Alina gripped one of his hands with hers, allowing the other to press gently against the gaping wound in his side as her fingertips glowed with blue energy. He hissed, gritting his teeth - clearly trying so hard not to show how much pain he was actually in.

It had been years of honing her teachings from the church, of praying to Sankta Selune, of gazing up at the moon and begging for inspiration. Years of healing minor cuts, then healing sickness. Then poisoning. Then when they couldn’t escape the typhoon, Alina found she could bring some members of the crew nearly back from the edge of Death itself. But not all of them.

Much like the flip of a coin, the moon, too, waxes and wanes. Fate and magic are funny gambling partners.

Tonight, Alina thought not of gambling, not of luck, but of sheer willpower and determination to not see another life extinguished at the cruel hand of fortune. Not this life. Not this time.

As she spent every last drop of energy she had to give to save Nikolai, Tolya stood sentinel to protect them both from any further attacks. It was only when the captain’s ragged breathing had returned to normal that Tolya spoke through gritted teeth.

“One of these days, _sobachka_ , these little games you like to play will get you killed. You will be the death of all of us.”

“Tolya, you pessimist. Every life is worth the chance.”

+~+~+~+~+~+

Nikolai held to that belief till his dying breath.

In the end, it was a cruel twist of fate; Tolya and Tamar had insisted, as they’d rushed to the cannons, that pirates could not be reasoned with. Nikolai had agreed. They would hold tight, and defend the little family they had created.

Alina still wonders if his honeyed voice and clever words would have changed their fate that day.

She still keeps that letter with news from the Volkvony in her belt pouch.

+~+~+~+~+~+

By the time Merry found her atop the rubble, Alina had no tears left to cry.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

The young cleric jumped when she heard Merry’s voice beside her - she had not noticed her dear friend scaling the back of the junk heap to slide up close next to her. The elf’s voice was a balm, cool water on a hot day, and her hand on Alina’s was more than grounding.

Though desperate for her comfort and solace in that moment, Alina simply shook her head curtly.

“I think I want to sleep, honestly. There isn’t much to be said. I’m sure Regal has already made my mistakes abundantly clear.”

Merry’s thumb stopped it’s gentle caress across the back of Alina’s hand abruptly. “Regal?”

Alina chuckled sadly. “Ah, so that’s a topic for later then. Nice of him to not have gutted me twice.”

Merry knew better than to press the issue; it wasn’t like Alina to push things down inside. The bubbly Life Cleric that Merry knew wore her heart on her sleeve, for better or for worse.

“Alright then. The inn is just around the corner, I think Corrin has already paid for some rooms. Shall we?”

Another curt nod from Alina, nothing more. The pair slid down the side of the pile, but instead of walking hand in hand as they might normally, Alina started off ahead in an off-kilter saunter, leaving the elf several long paces behind.

Alina didn’t want anyone - least of all Merry - to see the tears streaking her face once again. _Guess there were a few more after all._

The rogue clenched and unclenched her hands a few times, then sped after Alina. _“And here I thought I was supposed to be the dramatic one,” she huffed quietly._

She winced when Alina stopped in her tracks. 

“I am not trying to cause a scene,” she said tersely, though the wobble of her lip belied the intense emotions running just beneath the statement.

They passed the rest of the walk to the hostel in complete silence.

+~+~+~+~+~+

Alina paced the dark hallways well into the night, as sleep continually evaded her. The twisted, warped paths through the ramshackle building did not lend themselves to comfort, nor a sense of security.

It did not shock her that she was not the only sleepless person that night.

She found Regal on the balcony at the far end of the structure, leaning across the railing, waving a glass of liquor irreverently side to side, as if to some tune only he could hear. Maybe she was just seeing things but… his shoulders seemed even more tense than they usually did.

“Alina, what the hell do you want.”

His low voice stung Alina, even as she continued walking forward.

“Nothing. Literally, nothing. I was just walking around, I couldn’t sleep.”

“Well, this balcony is occupied.”

She ambled all the way down the hall to lean stiffly across the railing a few feet away from the angry Tiefling. Resolutely, Regal continued to stare forward.

“What do you want me to say, Regal. Honestly. That I’m sorry? That I was a fool? That I--”

He turned suddenly, closing the distance between them, his eyes blazing mere inches from hers.

“I just want you to think about your actions for once!” he spat.

“You think I just rush in blindly with no regard to what I’m doing? You think I don’t realize what the stakes are?” Alina whispered coldly, meeting his gaze without a blink.

“A great man once told me... that every life is worth a chance,” she began carefully, “that alliances could be forged from attacks, and that words hold far more power than any sword. Everything in this world is a gamble - but I've found the dice roll more in the favor of kindness than people expect." 

Through gritted teeth, she continued. "I lost everything, Regal. And I'll never know -" her voice broke for a moment, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes "- I'll never know if it was just cruel fate, or if it was because they shot first, that wretched day, instead of negotiating."

Regal eased back slightly, but his demeanor remained unreadable as Alina’s voice grew louder, the words tumbling freely now.

"I figured you'd understand, wanting to protect the people you care about, even if it doesn't always make sense to you. You've shown it time and time again with those kids you’re so keen on finding. I know, I KNOW, you understand that desperation."

The tears finally spilled over onto her cheeks, for the third time that day.

"I never meant to put anyone in danger. Quite the opposite. But I get it - I was naïve and stupid for thinking anything is the same here as in our world above. But don't you dare, not for one second, try to act like I wouldn't give everything for Corrin, for Merry, or Lukos. For you. But I won't apologize for doing what I thought was right."

She did not give him a chance to respond. Not tonight. Spinning on her heel, Alina left Regal standing silently in the dim firelight.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you [Vanalosswen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanalosswen/pseuds/Vanalosswen) for reading, given feedback, and of course, bringing Merry to life! All of that dialogue was actually in-game stuff that happened. Everything afterwards was pure speculation to figure out my dialogue - and it actually played out very differently in the next session, but I still liked my angst. So I kept it.


End file.
